pox
noun/pɒks/
/pɑːks/
the pox
[singular] (old use)- a disease spread by sexual contact synonym syphilis
- (also smallpox)(in the past) a serious disease that caused a high temperature, left permanent marks on the skin and often caused death
Word Originlate Middle English: alteration of pocks, plural of pock ‘pockmark’.
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pox